Harry Potter and the Final Attempt
by Scarlet Trombone
Summary: Basically this is the summer after the 6th book and what happens to Harry and friends from there their love, their fear, their pain, their adventure. HrGr, HG, FA. Please review, it's the only way I know if it's worth continuing...
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter and the Final Attempt

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Rating: PG-13…for now?

Spoilers: some from all of the books probably, sorry

Pairings: Hermione/George, Harry/Ginny, mentions Fred/Angelina

Summary: Basically this is the summer after the 6th book and what happens from there; their love, their fear, their pain, their adventure. Hr/Gr, H/G, F/A

Chapter 1

Harry Potter took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he felt his head begin to spin. This was the moment he's been eagerly anticipating all summer, his stay at the Weasley's, incorporating Bill and Fleur's wedding. Now, finally, a whole month into summer holidays, he was going. He needed a break.

The Dursley's had been particularly unbearable this year. What with Dudley being attacked by dementors two years ago and Dumbledore's appearance last year, Harry figured they weren't likely to be keen on him, but they ignored his existence completely. He'd had to make his own meals even. He couldn't wait to get to the Burrow and have a proper meal; that was one place he knew he'd never go hungry. But the thought of Dumbledore made Harry's stomach twist. His mind was set on Snape and Voldemort. As soon as the wedding festivities had died down he was gone, refusing to return to the school he had once called home.

As he slowed he opened one eye a bit and saw the Weasley's interior come into view. He stumbled out of the fireplace and saw his best friend Ran slumped on the sofa. "Ron!" he grinned, wiping soot off his face. "You have no idea how- what's wrong?" Harry cut off, noticing his best friend's sagging features.

"Hermione's going with George," Ron muttered, glaring at the wall behind Harry.

"Going with him where?" Harry asked, confused.

"Going with him as in they're dating, you dolt," Ron spat icily.

"Oh, I…er, sorry?" Harry remembered what Hermione and Ron had been through the year before and realized at once why Ron was so upset, but it was an uncomfortable situation so Harry pretended not to see what was wrong with this, so he asked.

"Well, they- I- before this summer they never…and now…it'll never last," Ron sputtered, turning from pink around the ears to a deep flush over his cheeks. "Come on, let's take your trunk upstairs," he sighed, standing and lugging Harry's trunk out of the fireplace.

As the boys passed through the kitchen to head upstairs, Harry noticed Fred sitting at the rickety table, wearing an expression similar to his younger brother's. "I'll catch up with you in a minute, Ron," Harry said. Ron nodded and continued up to his room, letting the trunk bounce off of every step with a dull thud on the way, and Harry sat down across from the lone twin. "Hey, Fred."

Fred looked up, as though seeing Harry for the first time. "Oh. Alright there, Harry?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Glad to be away from the Dursleys and, well, just away. You?" Harry nodded toward his bright-haired companion.

Fred shrugged. "Eh. Alright."

Harry's brow furrowed. "What's wrong?" he asked, hoping it had nothing to do with Dumbledore and what happened at Hogwarts just one month ago. He didn't particularly feel like reliving it just yet.

Fred heaved a sigh and shifted his weight. "It's just, ever since George and Hermione got together a few weeks ago, he spends a lot of time with her. I mean, I know I should be happy for them and I am, and I know I sometimes do the same thing to him when I want to be with Angelina, but she's not here now and, well, I guess I'm just a hypocrite." Fred grinned. "Although it never gets old, bursting in on them when you know they're snogging."

Harry laughed, something he hadn't done in the month since Dumbledore died and he left school, and felt his whole body loosen and relax. He didn't want to lose this feeling anytime soon. "How'd they get together anyway? I mean, the only times I've ever seen her talking to either of you she was lecturing or reprimanding you." He shook his head in wonder.

Fred shrugged again. "No one really knows. She was coming here by muggle train and Mum sent him to go get her -he didn't go quietly, mind you- and when they got back hours and hours later they were laughing and talking like old friends…didn't even know the old girl had it in her to laugh so much. I mean, it's not nearly as academically enriching as studying and whatnot."

Harry rolled his eyes. "What took them so long? I mean, is that when they got together?" he asked.

Fred took a deep breath. "Apparently they decided that -since they were suddenly such good friends- that they'd go shopping and have dinner in Diagon Alley. But that's not when they got together. They spent a lot of time together for about a week and a half after that, and one night they went for a walk, came back holding hands and beaming, and the rest, as they say, is history," Fred finished.

"Wow. I guess I just, I never would have put them together." Harry rubbed the back of his neck, thinking of Ron.

"Yeah, well, as much as Ronniekins and I are complaining about it, they look well together. They say opposites attract." Fred smiled and shook his head. "If they're happy, I'm happy."

Harry nodded. "Are they around?" He was more keen on finding out where Ginny was, rather than Hermione and George, if he was being honest.

Freed shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "Last I heard they all went to Diagon Alley. Mum, Ginny, and Hermione are getting everyone's school things -including yours- and George went to go take inventory at the shop."

Harry tried to ignore the lurch in his stomach at the mention of Ginny and raised his eyebrows. "How is it _he's_ checking inventory and you're not? Don't you both own the shop?"

Fred's grin widened. "Inventory is such a tedious chore that really only requires one person. We flipped a knut. Thing is, I didn't tell him it was a trick knut, something new I've been working on; it always lands on the side the flipper calls. Brilliant, yeah?"

Harry was about to agree when a voice behind him replied dryly, "Not the first word to come to mind." Harry whirled in his seat, nearly falling off, to see Fred's identical twin George standing in the doorway. "S'the most bloody pointless thing I've done all summer," he muttered, walking in to pour himself a glass of water. He nodded to Harry along the way. "By the way, good to see you, Harry."

Harry grinned back. "So, you and Hermione I hear…" he dropped in almost casually.

George's features brightened considerably. "Yeah well, she makes me very happy. Don't think ickle Ronnie's too keen on the idea though. He's been sulking around and shouting at everyone since he found out."

"HARRY! HAVE YOU COME TO SEE ME OR THEM!" Ron bellowed from the top of the stairs.

"Just say him," Fred muttered. "Don't even pretend to notice anyone else."

"Er, you…" Harry called back uncertainly.

"THEN GET THE BLOODY HELL UP HERE!" Ron roared.

"I told you," George said quietly. "I hate to be the one upsetting him, and I hate how he thinks we both betrayed him, but you can't help the way you feel for certain people, right? Or the way they feel for you. Right?" George shifted uneasily.

Harry shrugged, immediately thinking of Ginny. "Guess not. See you later," he said over his shoulder as he climbed the stairs. He entered Ron's room only to see his friend pacing angrily.

"…lousy git…filthy traitor…" Ron was mumbling crazily.

Harry didn't know what to say and was quite sure this was a conversation he didn't want to have. He stayed silent, pretending to pick something off his sleeve.

"How could they do this to me?" Ron asked enraged, rounding on Harry.

Harry hesitated. "Well, to be honest I- I don't think they reckon they did anything to you. I- I mean, it- it just seems to me that they liked each other so they…you know, got together…" He had no idea when he was even trying to say and shrugged when his voice faded out.

"Sure, take their side!" Ron thundered, so angry Harry could almost feel the heat emanating from him.

Harry sighed. "Look, I'm not siding with anyone, I'm just saying…and anyway, didn't you kind of do this same thing to her last year? With Lavender?"

Ron flushed fuscia. "So you're saying she's dating my brother to get revenge?"

"No, I'm saying…I don't know what I'm saying…just, they seem happy together, so can't you try to be happy for them?" Harry asked, thoroughly exasperated.

Ron stared at him a moment, blinked, then sunk onto the bed with his chin in his hands. "You know they didn't even tell me they'd started going out?" he muttered.

Harry shook his head, lowering himself onto the bed set up for him.

Ron sighed and gulped. "Yeah. I knew they have been spending more time together, but I never imagined…I asked her out two days later," he said glumly.

"You didn't?" Harry gasped at his friend's gall.

"Yeah I did. She said, 'I can't' and I just sort of…stumped and sputtered like a fool, something along the lines of 'but last year…blah blah' and she said, 'Well, a few months ago I might have said yes, but then you pulled that Lavender stunt and I just came off it.' So I asked if that was why she _can't_ go out with me and she says, 'no, that's why I _wouldn't_ go out with you. I _can't_ go out with you because I'm already dating someone.' I -well, I might have exploded there, but I did manage to ask who and when she mumbled George, going like a tomato, mind you, I just sort of gave up and walked away." Ron rubbed his hands over his face. "I really thought…and then…and now…I don't know what to do myself, Harry, because you're right, they do look happy together. Really happy. That might be the hardest part."

Harry shifted uncomfortably, wishing he'd never heard that last part, but managed to mutter to mutter something about there being other fish in the sea.

Ron's eyes had a glazed over look, but when Harry spoke he snapped out of it, turning very red, realizing what he had just divulged. "Er…right…yeah, I reckon- reckon I should just get over it," he sputtered, not sounding convinced himself. "Let's go downstairs; I expect they'll be back by now."


	2. Chapter 2

Harry Potter and the Final Attempt

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Rating: PG-13…for now?

Spoilers: some from all of the books probably, sorry

Pairings: Hermione/George, Harry/Ginny, mentions Fred/Angelina

Summary: Basically this is the summer after the 6th book and what happens from there; their love, their fear, their pain, their adventure. Hr/Gr, H/G, F/A

AN: Also, not to be a bitch or anything, but it's kind of discouraging to see that this story has had 100 hits, yet I only have one comment. How am I supposed to know if I should continue? So pleeeeaaaase comment, even to say that you don't like it and why, because at least that's something I can work with. Thanks!

And thank you sooo much to the one reviewer, Knifethrowastarr! It means a lot to me!

Chapter 2

Dinner that night was very quiet. The silence was almost unbearable. Ron refused to so much as look at Hermione and George, Harry avoided Ginny's gaze, and everyone seemed afraid to talk to Harry, as if one wrong word might make him relive that terrible night one month ago. Strangely Harry didn't mind. He was just happy to be with them, in a place he felt safe. He also ate in silence, staring determinedly at his plate.

After dinner Harry watched as George and Hermione disappeared down the path to the lake, noting how Ron was suddenly stacking plates rather loudly. Harry sighed and brought his hand down on the plates. "Let me get these," he volunteered.

Ron looked up, embarrassed. "Oh. No, Harry, you don't have to, I just…er, well…I…" Harry shook his head and gave it a jerk toward the house. Ron gave in and slumped toward the house, giving a gnome a good kick along the way. Harry examined the plates in front of him. Carrying them all at one time was going to be a challenge, but he didn't fancy making two trips, and scooped them all into his arms.

Nervously he made his way to the house, trying to balance the wobbling stack of plates. Just when he was sure the top few were going to go, a pair of hands reached out and removed half of the stack. "That's a near impossible task," said the voice belonging to the hands. "Who do you think you are, Harry Potter or something?"

Harry turned and was surprised to see Ginny's grinning face next to his, looking as beautiful as ever. "Something like that, I guess." He smiled back, somewhat apprehensively, as an overwhelming urge to drop the plates and take her into his arms washed over him. He briefly wondered what he had been thinking in breaking up with her. 'You did it for her own safety, to spare her feelings!' a voice in his head chastised him, and he quickly looked away from her. "So…George and Hermione…what do you think about that?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I'm happy for them. It's obvious how much they care about each other and, even though there's no good reason for them to be together, even though they probably know it won't last forever, they're willing to try and give it a chance…because, maybe, fate will prove them wrong." Ginny's pace had slowed considerably as she gazed at the place where George and Hermione had just disappeared.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," Harry said as he pushed his way into the house, "but fate has got us beat this time." And he walked inside, feeling like dirt, and left her standing outside, staring at the door.

As he went upstairs, Harry could hear Ron's frenzied pacing so he headed back downstairs. He passed Ginny's closed door on his way; she was also pacing. With a guilty sinking feeling in his stomach, Harry made his way back outside. Bill and Fleur were sitting on the wall, murmuring things quietly to each other. Bill's face was still stitched up, the torn flesh carefully pinched back together. Harry felt another stab of guilt. It was all his fault.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat together on the patio, sipping tea and not speaking. Harry turned and walked the other way around the house so as not to be seen, feeling more alone and out of place than he had in a long time, and nearly ran into Fred near the broom shed walking in the opposite direction. Fred grinned. "Nice night, Harry, you reckon?"

Harry nodded. "I suppose so. Where have you been?"

"Oh, strolling about the grounds, taking in the scenery, spying on George and Hermione…you know, classy things like that." Harry laughed and Fred continued, "I'm off to owl Angelina now, but should you be in need of some entertainment our resident lovebirds are in the clearing in the woods." He winked, giving Harry a thump on the back, and was off.

Harry didn't feel much like spying, so he pulled an old Comet 260 from the shed and kicked off. He felt suddenly light and carefree as he soared above the trees; or at least he puttered along above them after finally coaxing the broom to rise high enough. After fifteen or twenty minutes he landed on one of the thicker branches of the weeping willow, which sat on the bank of the lake.

He rested contentedly in the tree, his mind farther from the nightmare he's lived through as Hogwarts than it had been all summer, until he heard voices nearing. Desperately he tried to get himself up as he recognized the voices to be Hermione's and George's, but hadn't even managed to stand up before they suddenly appeared below him. He sat very still and hoped they wouldn't have the urge to look up. Or go tree climbing.

They sat down on the grassy bank of the lake and George wrapped an arm over Hermione's shoulders as she pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned into him. "What are we going to do, George?" Hermione asked, staring out at the lake, taking in the placid water and twinkling sky. "Soon we won't have this anymore."

George sighed. "I don't know. But do we have to think about that now? Let's just be happy with the way things are now. Let's just be happy together, no matter how long this lasts."

Hermione smiled slightly and closed her eyes. "We could sit here like this forever." It was more of a question than a statement, it sounded to Harry.

George snorted quietly. "Oh, Hermione. You know I'd give anything for that…I wish we'd done this sooner."

Hermione opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Well, I guess…everything happens for a reason."

George reached up and brushed his fingers over her cheek. He opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to change his mind and kissed her instead. "No matter what happens, Hermione, I'm not going to let you go. And, I know you don't need it, but I wish you'd let me protect you. Times are about to get even worse, we need to be with the people we care about the most, forget the consequences, because it would be worse to live without them."

A tear slid down Hermione's cheek as he kissed her again.

Harry sat up in the tree, a realization dawning on him. As he watched the scene unfolding between George and Hermione below him, all he could do was think about how much he wanted that with Ginny. George had it right, not him. He sat and waited for about another half hour until George and Hermione had walked back to the Burrow before flying off himself. They had just entered the house when Ron came bursting out and yelled, "THE NERVE OF THOSE TWO! ALWAYS…TOUCHING AND-"

"RON!" Harry yelled back. "They're happy and they're staying together so GET OVER IT!" He stormed past a confounded looking Ron and into the house where he didn't stop, or notice the grateful looks George and Hermione were giving him, until he reached Ginny's room. He knocked and she promptly opened the door, her eyes widening when she saw who the perpetrator was.

"Ginny…I- I can't…I didn't- don't…you…" Harry shook his head in frustration. "I'm sorry, Ginny. I didn't mean it. You- you're one of the most important people in the world to me. If I don't have you, I-" but he was suddenly cut off as she pressed her lips to his. Harry felt a weight lift and kissed her back. Now he was home.


End file.
